Mayhem has a kind of momentum; it can be exhausting to resist. In Bowdoin-Geneva, an anticrime effort flops. And Big Nate explodes. But the peace festival rocks, and a son in jail has started to pray.

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Theresa Johnson’s life is a whirl, from the home that is the center of family life to the job she cherishes as a school secretary to the struggle to keep her sons safe. Through it all – whether sitting outside a jail or dancing to blow off steam – her unquenchable spirit and dry wit remain intact.

Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff

Theresa Johnson talked on the phone while her daughter, Ceecee, fixed the hair of her granddaughter Trinity.

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Sean Dale-Johnson, 24, looked back at his daughter’s mother, Tricia Ariol, during his September court appearance in Quincy District Court. Sean violated his probation and is in jail awaiting trial in a separate case. His family is trying to survive the anxiety of not knowing when he’ll be home.

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Jalanae, Theresa’s youngest child, got her hair done by her mother while Tricia Ariol, mother of Jalanae's neice, looked on. Theresa Johnson sent her daughter to Crossroads for Kids summer camp, starting at home and seeing her off at BC High School on July 14.

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